Land is now “mushy” under Fukushima nuclear reactors
“Big Problem”: Cracked floors in Fukushima reactors leaking into groundwater that’s rising and rising and rising due to Tepco wall — “Can no longer be stopped from getting in ocean” — “Worse than that… buildings now on mushy land” (AUDIO)
Title: Breaking News: Entergy pulling the plug on Vermont Yankee
Source: Fairewinds Energy Education
Host: Nathaniel White-Joyal
Date: Aug 27, 2013
Arnie Gundersen, Fairewinds chief engineer:: The big problem is the nuclear reactors themselves have cracked floors. The buildings in those reactor buildings have cracked floors. And groundwater is getting into those buildings, and becoming contaminated, and then leaking out. So, in addition to what’s in those tanks, the physical plant itself is contaminating the groundwater as well.
So what Tepco tried to do is to build a wall along the water. They injected basically a concrete type of a compound and made the ground less porous. That’s not a good idea — it’s a poor idea — because what happened is the mountain that’s behind Fukushima continues to pour the water into the ground. Now it’s got no place to go. So now the groundwater’s rising and rising and rising and likely over-topping this wall, certainly going around it on the sides. So we’ve got radioactive water that can no longer be stopped from getting in the ocean.
It’s worse than that though. The radioactive water has made the site seismic response different. The buildings that were on dry land are now on mushy land. So that if there were to be another earthquake, the seismic response of these buildings — which was already marginal — is further compromised because the ground that they are now on is wet soggy soil, when before it had been firm.
Follow ENENews on Twitter for latest updates
Fukushima’s fishermen form a serious obstacle to TEPCO’s plans to release water into the Pacific
Fishing culture has deep historical roots in Japan. The country imports more seafood than any other
“If you run roughshod over the fishermen” it will backfire when Abe asks the public for support of his economic agenda and nuclear restarts,”
Fukushima Fishermen Ruined by Tepco Now Key in Radiation Fight, Bloomberg, By Yuriy Humber, Chisaki Watanabe & Masumi Suga – Aug 29, 2013 ”……… Japan’s government promised “to take drastic measures to the maximum extent possible” to contain the radiated water leaks. That has so far amounted to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the ruling Liberal Democrats instructing Tepco to win over the fishermen before proceeding.
Tepco, Optics
“Despite its support for nuclear power, the Cabinet and LDP politicians know that the public dislikes atomic power and holds Tepco in contempt,” Robert Dujarric, director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at Temple University, said by e-mail. “They realise that the ‘optics’ of going over the objections of the fishermen would be very bad.” Continue reading
TEPCO’s plan for diverting Fukushima water into Pacific Ocean
Fukushima Fishermen Ruined by Tepco Now Key in Radiation Fight, Bloomberg, By Yuriy Humber, Chisaki Watanabe & Masumi Suga – Aug 29, 2013
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) ruined the livelihoods of the commercial fishermen that trawled the seas off Fukushima prefecture when its leaking reactors poisoned the fishing grounds. The utility now needs their help.
At issue is a series of wells and pipes built by Tokyo Electric to alter the course of groundwater flowing from the hills behind the wrecked Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear station. The bypass, which is ready to operate, will divert water away from the plant’s damaged reactors and into the Pacific, thus reducing contamination, Tokyo Electric says. The utility must first get the approval of the 1,500 members of Fukushima’s fishing cooperative and others in the area to begin using the bypass. With Tokyo Electric’s history of falsifying safety reports, hiding accidents and ignoring warnings, fisherman aren’t convinced the system is safe.
“We have yet to reach a conclusion” on whether the cooperative will agree to Tokyo Electric’s bypass plan, Tetsu Nozaki, chairman of the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations, said yesterday in Tokyo. “We will make a cool-headed decision.”
The three-month impasse has implications beyond Fukushima and Japan because it’s holding up the bid to reduce the 300 metric tons of radioactive water gushing into the Pacific each day.
More than 330,000 tons of water with varying levels of toxicity is stored in pits, basements and hundreds of tanks at the Fukushima nuclear plant 220 kilometers (137 miles) northeast of Tokyo. The water is the result of efforts to keep the reactor cores from overheating and groundwater pouring into the facility, wrecked by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Consensus Sought
Some of those tanks are vulnerable to leaks, Tokyo Electric, or Tepco, said last week. Moreover, the groundwater seeping into the Fukushima plant is mixing with radioactive water, getting contaminated.
Estimates say about 400 tons of groundwater flows down the hillside each day. The bypass would reduce that by about 25 percent, piping the water from the plant and into the ocean before it gets contaminated.
“We want to reach a consensus soon,” Yoshihisa Komatsu, an official at the Fukushima fishing cooperative, said by phone Aug. 28 in reference to the bypass talks. “But some members oppose it so we are caught in the middle.”…… .http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-29/fukushima-fishermen-ruined-by-tepco-now-key-in-radiation-fight.html
Foundations of Fukushima’s nuclear reactors now becoming unstable?
Warning that foundations of Fukushima reactor chambers have been “compromised” — Groundwater rising fast, now just 10 inches from surface http://enenews.com/warning-that-foundations-of-fukushima-reactor-chambers-are-compromised-underground-water-now-just-10-inches-from-surface
Source: The Daily Telegraph (UK)
Author: Julian Ryall, Tokyo
Date: Aug. 26, 2013
Speaking after being shown around the site, [Toshimitsu Motegi, the minister of trade and industry] said, “The urgency of the situation is very high. From here on, the government will take charge.” […]
As well as leaks of water contaminated with radiation, work to bring the damaged reactors under control has been making painfully slow progress. Radiation levels in three of the reactor buildings are so high that it is impossible for workers to spend more than a couple of minutes inside at one time.
The true state of the reactor chambers remains unclear and there are suggestions that the tons of water that are being sprayed on the reactor vessels to keep them at a stable temperature has compromised the foundations of the structures.
Experts have also warned that the effort to gain control of the reactors – which is likely to take an estimated three decades – could be for naught if another major earthquake or tsunami strikes north-east Japan. […]
See also: Expert: Land under Fukushima reactor buildings at risk of turning into liquid — Area near sea could become like mud
Tepco Handouts (Fukushima Diary: “Groundwater level at one of the borings has been jumping up since 8/20/2013 for some reason. There was no rainfall in this term according to Tepco. […] This time, the groundwater level came up to 25cm to the surface of the ground.) Most Recent English Version (Aug. 22, 2013)
Book ‘The Power of Promise’ -India’s nuclear industry rotten to the core
In case of a catastrophic accident, almost the entire fiscal burden will be borne by Indians – as will, of course, all the death and despair. What is worse, as Ramana points out, the reactor suppliers now have diminished incentive to ensure quality and safety……A rotten core 26 August 2013 By Madhusree Mukerjee M V Ramana’s book dissects India’s nuclear-power lobby to expose its lies and deceit. “……The delusions If the majority of Indians are unaware of the risks, it may be because they have been always kept in the dark about nuclear matters. Ramana demonstrates that the nuclear establishment in India has insulated itself from the people it purports to serve by means of a culture of secrecy and mendacity that obscures the true fiscal, environmental and human cost of nuclear energy. By publishing The Power of Promise, he has opened the windows of a long-shuttered room and let the sunlight stream in.
Strontium 90, another radioactive element discharging from Fukushima nuclear mess
Since June 2011 there have been further large discharges of strontium from Fukushima that have not been measured with precision.
Along with caesium-137, Sr-90 is one of the most important artificial radioactive isotopes released into the environment, with a half-life of 30 years. Strontium’s chemical behaviour is similar to that of calcium, and it can accumulate in organisms, especially in bone.
Fukushima accident raised levels of radioactive strontium off the east coast of Japan by up to a hundred times : http://phys.org/news/2013-06-fukushima-accident-radioactive-strontium-east.html#jCp Researchers from the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) and the Department of Physics of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have studied the spread of radioactive strontium in the coastal waters of eastern Japan during the three months following the Fukushima nuclear accident, which happened in March, 2011. The samples analysed show the impact of the direct release of radioactive materials into the Pacific Ocean, and indicate that the amount of strontium-90 discharged into the sea during those three months was between 90 and 900 Tbq (terabecquerels), raising levels by up to two orders of magnitude. The highest concentrations were found to the north of the Kuroshio current, which acts as a barrier preventing radioactive material from being carried to lower latitudes. Continue reading
Japan has to take back radiation-contaminated containers sent to Taiwan
Taiwan returns radiation-contaminated containers to Japan Global Post 28 Aug 13 Fifteen radiation-contaminated containers from Japan have been sent back since Japan’s earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in March 2011, Taiwan’s Atomic Energy Council told Kyodo News on Wednesday.
The council said once a container is detected contaminated with radiation at Kaohsiung port, the importer is given a choice to either clean the container if it wishes to see the container enter Taiwan or not clean the container, which will then be sent back to where it came.
The Liberty Times reported in its Wednesday issue that Kaohsiung Customs has detected 226 containers contaminated with radiation coming from or routed through Japan since March 2011.
Kaohsiung Customs are the island’s only seaport equipped with radiation detection monitors that screen more than 95 percent of all container traffic…… http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/130828/taiwan-returns-radiation-contaminated-containers-japan
Huge radiation: Estimated 276 quadrillion Bq of Cs-137 entered Fukushima basements
Water with nuclear fuel coming up from ocean floor off Fukushima coast? Tokyo Professor: 156 quadrillion Bq of Cs-137 once in basements — Double Chernobyl; Getting close to total fallout from every atomic bomb test in history — May be outputting from seeps in seafloor, I don’t know (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/water-with-pieces-of-nuclear-fuel-coming-up-from-ocean-floor-off-fukushima-coast-tokyo-professor-156-quadrillion-bq-of-cs-137-in-basements-getting-close-to-fallout-total-from-every-atomic-bombs-t
Title: Long-term Sources: To what extent are marine sediments, coastal groundwater, and rivers a source of ongoing contamination?
Source: Science Symposium at University of Tokyo
Date: Nov. 13, 2012
Professor Jota Kanda, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology:
Jota Kanda Highlight – Science Symposium at University of Tokyo
In the basement of the reactor housings […] they used to have 156 petabecquerels of Cs-137 […]
156 is a huge amount. Double the amount released from Chernobyl, even getting close to the value released from global fallout from bomb testing. […
The volume remains about the same, presumably because of the inflow of groundwater into the basement.
If there is inputting of groundwater, there might be outputting of groundwater, I don’t know.
The possible groundwater seepage from near by seafloor — that’s something I think. However we have no data indicative of this seep from the seafloor.
Watch Kanda’s presentation here
See also:
- Kanda: There may be other sources of contamination stored up inside Fukushima plant’s infrastructure — If it gets into the ocean it will have “devastating impact“
- Tokyo Professor: Cesium hot spots almost 100 times greater than surrounding area in seabed soil a mile offshore Fukushima plant
- Japan Expert: Contamination from Fukushima flowing beneath seafloor? “Could spring up outside the port“
- Nuclear Expert: Fukushima melted fuel is drifting in ocean and onto land, lacking any containment — It ends up on coastline and blows into communities — People get an exceptional dose — Health harm will go on for thousands, if not tens of thousands of years (AUDIO)
- Nuclear Engineer: Estimated 276 quadrillion Bq of Cs-137 entered Fukushima basements — Triple Chernobyl total release — A portion “has already made its way to aquifer, whence it can easily flow into sea”
China to replace coal by wind and solar energy, by 2030
China has already demonstrated what’s in store by reducing the cost of solar PV modules so much that they are now commonplace on roofs across the mortgage belt suburbs of Australia. Between one-in-10 and even as much as one-in-three households now have solar PV systems installed in the outer metropolitan suburbs of Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne as well as several regional cities. Such an outcome wasn’t even dreamt about by the most wildly optimistic greenie just four years ago.
What Japan did for home entertainment equipment, China will do for clean energy
Wind & solar outpace coal in China by 2030 – Bloomberg Tristan Edis 28 Aug 13, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) has released analysis which finds renewables will make up more than half of new power capacity growth in China to 2030, across a variety of plausible scenarios. By 2030 total installed capacity of renewable energy power plants will equal that of coal.
This study sought to examine how technological and economic changes might realistically alter the make-up and growth of China’s power sector. They found that coal’s dominance will be challenged by:
– faster technological improvement and cost reductions achieved by renewable energy technologies;
– increased social concern and, consequently, government regulation over environmental pollution;
– the prospects of shale gas, and;
– a potential price on carbon emissions. Continue reading
Fukushima’s most dangerous problem is ignored by mainstream media
Glowing Green with Outrage By Adam Smith OpEdNews Op Eds 8/27/2013 ”………Unfortunately the reality has been that the media have simply not been doing their job. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has been allowed to dictate the narrative of what is occurring with basically no oversight. It turns out that the site was never actually contained and radioactive water has been leaking with “no accurate figures for radiation levels.” You may say that since this issue is being reported by all major news organizations now, the media is doing their job albeit in a very tardy fashion.
However, that would be missing the reality that this leaking radiation water is the least of our worries vis-a-vis the plant. Much less reported by the media is what will be required by the clean-up crew to end this whole saga. Reliable old Reuters often provides the on-the-ground breaking scoops that our local media then report to us. Despite their well-deserved reputation, it seems that most media organizations have chosen to ignore their recent scoop about the dangers involved in the clean-up process.
Essentially, Tepco needs to remove 1300 spent fuel rods, containing 14,000 times the amount of radiation dropped onto Japan in WWII, from a dilapidated, flooding, and collapsing power plant that still sits in an earthquake-prone location. The whole process will take about 40 years and cost about eleven billion dollars. Each rod weighs 660 pounds, is 15 feet long, and cannot get too close to each other or will trigger a chain-reaction. If exposed to air, they may also trigger a chain-reaction. Usually, when these rods are moved as part of normal operations, a sophisticated robot is used to guide the work and ensure accuracy down to millimeters. Due to the damage caused by the earthquake/tsunami, this is not possible and the cranes will be operated in a poisonously radioactive area by scared human hands with all of their limitations. These rods will be removed individually, one at a time, and a mistake on any of them could trigger an unstoppable chain-reaction…….. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Glowing-Green-with-Outrage-by-Adam-Smith-Cancer_Energy_Energy_Energy-130827-96.html
Turkey investigating 12,000 staff for nuclear power plant
Police, MİT to investigate nuclear plant employees http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=116106 27 Aug 13, The General Directorate of Security will reportedly investigate 4,000 Turkish citizens, including interns, while MİT will look into 8,000 Russians to be hired to work at the plant
Twelve thousand workers to be employed at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant will be investigated for security purposes by police and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) in the southern province of Mersin, according to media reports on Monday. The General Directorate of Security will reportedly investigate 4,000 Turkish citizens, including interns, while MİT will look into 8,000 Russians to be hired to work at the plant, set to be built in Mersin’s Gülnar district.
The Energy and Natural Resources Ministry demanded investigations into the Akkuyu power plant staff by the Interior Ministry, which initially rejected the energy ministry’s demand, stating it was against the relevant directives.
Later, the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry demanded a special article be added to a directive that allowed only for the investigation of public servants, seeking the inclusion of employees of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, stating that the facility has strategic prominence in terms of state security.
The Justice Ministry received the demand and stated its opinion that there should be a special regulation in the directives for issues related to national security, meaning the investigation of the nuclear power plant workers should be made permissible.
Interior Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Mustafa Demirer issued a new directive to the governors of the 81 provinces stating that employees, Turkish interns and subcontractors at facilities with strategic importance such as nuclear power plants require investigation.
Future requests for security checks under the directive will be carried out through the investigation of archives; Turkish employees will be investigated by the General Directorate of Security, while MİT will be in charge of looking into foreign personnel.
So far, the General Directorate of Security and MİT have investigated the records of over 200 Turkish and foreign employees employed for the project. It has been reported that Turkish employees found to have a criminal record that includes such offenses as terrorism and smuggling will be terminated. Russian citizens who work at the Akkuyu nuclear plant will be deported if they are found to have a criminal record.
Tepco’s tricks for not revealing the true state of Fukushima’s nuclear reactors
There’s another cause that Tepco has not mentioned – It’s the direct leakage from the reactor turbine buildings.
This means the coolant water is directly leaking to the ground and the sea. This is way more serious
we need to suspect the direct leakage of the coolant water from reactor1 and 4. Especially about reactor1, the water that actually touched the fuel may be flowing to the sea. When Tepco officially admits it, everything would be already too late.
Tepco may be hiding the possible direct leakage of coolant water – Press should demand disclosure http://fukushima-diary.com/2013/08/column-tepco-may-be-hiding-the-possible-direct-leakage-of-coolant-water-press-should-demand-disclosure/ by Mochizuki on August 26th, 2013
It’s because the reports are based on Tepco and the government’s release. I’ve been following them long enough to know their trick.
They have us focus on the least serious matters to blind us from what really matters.
I’m telling this because since July, they’ve been focusing on the groundwater (contamination and the increasing volume) issue just on the seaside of reactor2.
I pretty much know this is the minimum problem, am trying to smell where is the real matter.
We need to separate the journalists and the media companies.
Actually (some Japanese) journalists are ferociously biting Tepco, but their reports are manipulated by the editors.
In order to stop the journalists from reaching the bigger matter, also Tepco uses another trick. Continue reading
Fukushima people in a massive non-consensual experiment on radiation exposure
TV: “The Japanese are part of a massive non-consensual experiment on radiation exposure” — “Everywhere now is radioactive, we can’t escape it,” say Fukushima locals at beach (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/tv-japanese-are-part-of-a-massive-non-consensual-experiment-on-radiation-exposure-everywhere-now-is-radioactive-we-cant-escape-it-say-fukushima-locals-at-beach-video
Title: Concern over Fukushima leaks persists
Source: Al Jazeera
Date: August 25, 2013
Concern over Fukushima leaks persists
Anita McNaught, Reporter: At the local beach, despite news that highly radioactive water’s leaching into the sea, locals are cooling off. They told us they were philosophical — Everywhere now is radioactive, they can’t escape it.
The stricken Daiichi nuclear plant is 35 kilometers up the coast that way.
This beach only opened to the public in July. Back then authorities said that radiation in the seawater had fallen to acceptably low levels.
But when Yoshiro Watanabe took sand samples for analysis, he found levels there were far higher.
No one here knows what a safe background level is anymore — The Japanese are part of a massive non-consensual experiment on radiation exposure. Watch the broadcast here
China calls Fukushima radiation a serious international environmental issue
Official Chinese Press: Fukushima contamination is “serious international environmental issue” — Crisis concerns the core interests of people who share the planet http://enenews.com/commentary-fukushima-contamination-is-international-environmental-issue-govt-must-address-global-anxiety-crisis-concerns-the-core-interests-of-people-who-share-planet
Source: Xinhua (China’s official press agency)
Authors: Liu Tian, Zhang Cheng
Date: Aug 23, 2013
[…] it is the time for the Japanese government to shoulder more responsibilities to address the global concerns. […]
Studies showed that radioactive substances have spread into high sea from the crippled nuclear plant, proving that the tragedy has no longer a national problem, but a serious international environmental issue that needs stronger efforts to deal with. […]
A priority for the Japanese government to relieve the global anxiety is to make the accident relevant information more transparent to the international community so as to precisely assess the graveness of the entire accident and its aftermath.
It is hoped that the Japanese government would not keep the information for its own political interests as the issue concerns not only the core interests of the Japanese people, but also people who share the planet. […]
Lawmakers urge PM Abe to stay in Japan, declare State of Emergency
Lawmaker: Declare ‘State of Emergency’ right away and intervene at Fukushima — Japan Professor: Issue S.O.S. now, it’s really an emergency… Gov’t is utterly lost, international help is needed http://enenews.com/lawmaker-japan-should-declare-state-of-emergency-right-now-and-intervene-at-fukushima-kyoto-professor-govt-should-issue-s-o-s-its-really-an-emergency-they-are-utterly-lost-internati New York Times,s, August 23, 2013: Opposition lawmakers here have demanded that [Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe stay home and declare a state of emergency. “The nuclear crisis is real and ongoing, yet the government continues to look the other way,” said Yoshiko Kira of the opposition Japan Communist Party, which made significant gains in parliamentary elections last month. “The government should declare a state of emergency right now, and intervene to stop the outflow of contaminated water,” Ms. Kira said at an anti-nuclear rally outside Mr. Abe’s office in Tokyo. Mr. Abe remains popular, and it is uncertain how large a liability the crisis at the Fukushima plant will become for him. But it has become increasingly clear that the latest problems may be too large for the plant’s operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, to handle. Radio Free Europe, Aug 24, 2013: Komei Hosokawa, professor of environmental sociology at Kyoto Seika University in Japan, says that international assistance will be needed to deal with the mounting issues. “TEPCO hasn’t been working very [well] to handle the situation, and the Japanese government is sort of utterly lost,” he says. “The government at the moment is very reluctant to issue an SOS, but I think we should. It’s really an emergency going on.” See also: Asahi: Japan officially in “state of nuclear emergency” still — Clearly shows Fukushima disaster on going — Crisis far from over… gov’t far too late, commitment far too weak
1 This Month
19 May – Webinar No To Nuclear: Why Nuclear Power Destroys Lives, Derails Climate Progress and Provokes War
1 June Webinar – The High Cost of Nuclear Power – Register
of the week– Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- May 2026 (211)
- April 2026 (356)
- March 2026 (251)
- February 2026 (268)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (376)
- September 2025 (257)
- August 2025 (319)
- July 2025 (230)
- June 2025 (348)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
nuclear-news 